Stuck!
by Angelic Prophecy
Summary: Lyssie Matthews just wants to watch some movies on a Friday night. But a cursed DVD lands her in the beginning of National Treasure. She lives the story, joins the team, and even finds time to fall in love! I saw similar stories and then I wrote this!
1. What Happened?

**I should probably be working on my other story (Next Generation), but this poor little plot bunny in my head refused to go away. So I'm going to write this story, put NG on hiatus, and maybe by the time I'm finished, I'll have some better ideas for NG, so... ON WITH THE STORY!**

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Lyssie Matthews walked into her home, carrying a small bag. She hummed cheerfully to herself as she set the bag on the couch and walked back into a kitchen. She was performing her usual last-Friday-of-the-month movie night ritual. She rented three DVDs and watched them back to back all night or until she fell asleep. She put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and walked back into her living room, pulling several DVDs out of the bag she'd brought in.

"Pirates...Spiderman… Where is it? Oh, there it is." She pulled another DVD out of the bag. "National Treasure. Which one should I watch first?" She asked aloud, talking to herself, which she did often. She set them on the coffee table. Lyssie closed her eyes, moved her arm back and forth, and pressed her finger down on one of the cases. "National Treasure it is." She removed the DVD carefully from its case. She looked at it a moment. It looked like it had a strange green tinge. She shrugged and put it into her player. As she sat down, the screen appeared to be swirling.

"That's strange." She muttered, once again, to herself. Suddenly it felt like the room was swirling. "What the he…" She didn't even get to finish her sentence as a strange emptiness pressed in on her from all sides. Lyssie felt a thud before everything went black.

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**Ok, this chapter is really bad, but it'll get better, I promise. **

**Since this is such a bad chapter, I'm offering a contest. If anyone can guess what show I got Lyssie (Alyssa) Matthews from in their review, they get a cookie! well, an e-cookie.**


	2. First Impressions

Lyssie was only able to register bits as she slowly woke up. She felt cold and wet. Somebody picked her up. Then voices.

"Move over, Riley."

A muffled response. Being laid out across a seat. Her eyelids fluttered after a few minutes. She groaned.

"Where… am I?" Lyssie asked groggily.

"A little bit north of the Arctic circle." A male voice from the front replied

"WHAT?" Lyssie sat up, suddenly alert.

"Ow." She turned and saw a man about her age sitting beside her, rubbing his ear.

"You must be Riley."

"Yeah. How did you know that?"

"I heard him say your name." She pointed to the driver.

"That's Ben. And that's Ian." Riley pointed at the two men in the front seat.

"I see. Now, just out of curiosity, what are you three doing out here?" Lyssie asked curiously.

"We're looking for a ship." Ben answered.

"Out here?" Lyssie was confused.

"Long story." Ian replied. Suddenly Ben started looking wistfully out at the snow.

"Does he do that a lot?" Lyssie whispered. Riley nodded.

"I was thinking about Hanson and Perry, crossing this kind of terrain with nothing more than dog sleds and on foot. Can you imagine?" Ben asked.

"It's extraordinary." Ian replied softly.

"Fascinating…" Lyssie replied sarcastically. Ben opened his mouth to speak, but Riley's computer beeped before he could.

"Are we getting closer?" Ian asked.

"Assuming Ben's theory is correct and my tracking model's accurate, we should be getting very close. But don't go by me. I broke a shoelace this morning." Ben and Ian looked at him strangely.

"It's a bad omen." Riley and Lyssie said together.

"Should we turn around and go home?" Ian asked sarcastically.

"Or we could pull over and throw them both out here." Ben grinned. Lyssie glared at him.

"I'm glad you enjoy my company." she said sarcastically.

"Well, I could have left you in that snow drift." Ben reminded her. Riley's computer beeped once again.

"Are we here?" Lyssie asked.

"Yep." Riley shut the laptop and opened the door. "After you."

"Thank you." Lyssie climbed out into the snow. One of the man from the other snowmobile walked over to where Riley and Lyssie stood.

"Look, this is a waste of time. How would a ship wind up way out here?"

"Well, I'm no expert, but it could be that the hydrothermic properties of this region produced hurricane force ice storms that caused the ocean to freeze, then melt, then refreeze, resulting in a semi-solid migrating land mass that would land a shi pright about here." Riley nodded, and then walked away, leaving Shippen dumbfounded. Lyssie laughed. She patted him on the shoulder sympathetically and followed Riley. Just then Ben shouted.

"I… I found something!"

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**I hope you liked! Next chapter up soon!**


	3. The Charlotte and Flashbacks

**Disclaimer (Which I always forget to add for some reason.) : I don't own anything in this story except Lyssie. It'd be nice to own Riley, though. -wink-**

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It took about an hour to completely uncover the Charlotte. Everybody slowly filed in. Ben quickly pulled Lyssie aside.

"I have a question for you."

"What?" Lyssie asked.

"What's your name? I don't think you ever-"

"Oh, right, sorry. I was just a little more concerned with where I was. My name's Alyssa. Alyssa Matthews. But you can call me Lyssie." Lyssie smiled at Ben before heading down below the deck. She followed Riley, who was looking around in awe. He lifted up a blanket and started freaking out, knocking Lyssie down in the process.

"Ow." Lyssie got up after Riley, trying to hold back laughter. "C'mon Riley, it's just a dead guy." She grinned at him and walked past him.

"This is it. The cargo hold." Ben pulled up a handle and opened a door. The room was only filled with barrels.

"Maybe it's in the barrels?" Riley suggested. The group spread out across the small room, opening barrels. Lyssie watched Riley pull a cork out of one of the barrels and frantically search for it. She giggled, amused. Ian sniffed the black powdered substance.

"Gunpowder."

Lyssie saw Ben kneel down by one barrel.

"Whatcha doing Ben?"

"I've found something." Everyone gathered where Ben had knelt. He pulled out a wrapped box. He carefully unwrapped and opened the box. He picked it up gently.

"Do you guys know what this is?"

"Maybe it's a pipe!" Lyssie replied sarcastically.

"It's a billion dollar pipe?" Riley guessed.

"It's a meerschaum pipe. It's beautiful." Ian observed the pipe carefully.

"Look at the intricacy of the scroll work on the stem."

"Yes, lovely. But what does that have to do with what we're looking for. We found the ship. Am I missing something?" Lyssie asked.

"Well, there's a legend about a treasure of the Knight's Templar. But there's a series of clues we need to find it. And this is one of them." Ben explained.

"Wait. This is a treasure hunt?" Lyssie asked incredulously. The men looked at each other.

"Basically, yes." Ben said slowly.

"Well, let's get our clue then." Lyssie nodded. Ben carefully removed the stem of the pipe.

"Wha-Don't break it." Riley protested.

"The Secret Lies with Charlotte." Ben repeated to himself slowly. He pulled a knife out of his pocket and pressed against his thumb. Lyssie quickly squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed the hand of the nearest person, which happened to be Riley.

"And you're holding my hand because…"

"I hate blood." Lyssie said, sounding disgusted. "Just tell me when its over."

"OK. It's over." Riley said. Lyssie opened her eyes. She quickly withdrew her hand from Riley's, not really noticing her she was blushing softly. Ben rolled the bloody stem of the pipe on a notebook and looked at it.

"Templar symbols." He murmured.

The legend writ,

The stain affected,

The key in silence, undetected.

55 in iron pen.

Mr. Matlack can't offend.

"What does that mean?" Lyssie asked.

"It's a riddle. I need to think. The legend writ, the stain affected. What legend? There is the legend of the Templar treasure, the stain affects the legend…."

Lyssie decided to block out Ben's voice, knowing he would probably end up rambling. Her ears were unblocked by the refreshing sound of another voice.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean invisible? An invisible map?" asked Ian, confused.

"The stain affected could refer to a dye or a reagent used to bring about a certain result, combined with the key in silence undetected. The implication is to make what was undetectable, detectable. Unless the key in silence could be…"

"Prison." Lyssie turned to see that Shaw had spoken for the first time.

"Albuquerque. See, I can do it too. Snorkel." Riley replied. Lyssie giggled.

"It's where the map is. Like you said, 55 in iron pen. Iron pen is a prison."

"Yeah, that sure narrows it down to, I don't know, anywhere?"

"Or, it could be since the primary writing medium of the time was iron gall ink, the pen is… just a pen. Then why not say a pen, why say iron pen?" Lyssie could tell Ben was confusing himself.

"Because it's a prison." Shaw muttered. Lyssie rolled her eyes.

"Will you give up on that already?"

"Wait, iron pen. The ink does not describe the pen, it describes what was penned. It was iron, it was firm. It was mineral, no, no, no, no. It was firm, it was adamant, it was resolved. It was resolved. Mr. Matlack can't offend…"

"Would you do us all a favor and get to the point?" Lyssie asked, incredibly irritated. Ben glared.

"The point is, Timothy Matlack was the official scribe of the Continental Congress. Calligrapher, not writer. And to make sure he could not offend the map, it was put on the back of a resolution that he transcribed, a resolution that 55 men signed. The Declaration of Independence."

"That's fantastic." Lyssie replied sarcastically. She sat down on one of the barrels and crossed her legs.

"Come on. There's no invisible map on the back of the Declaration of Independence."

"I have to side with Riley. That's a pretty far fetched idea." Lyssie pointed out.

"Clever, really. A document of that importance would ensure the map's survival. And you said several masons signed it, yeah?' Ian asked.

"Yeah, nine for sure." Ben said softly.

"We'll have to arrange a way to examine it."

"Yeah, sure, we'll just walk into the Archives and say 'Could we run chemical tests on the Declaration?' I'm sure they'll let us."

"Your sarcasm is getting on my nerves, you know that, right?" Ian asked Lyssie, who grinned and nodded.

"She's right." Ben pointed out.

"Then what do you propose we do?"

"I don't know!" Ben's tone had quickly changed. Ian paused.

"We could borrow it."

"Steal it?" Lyssie asked incredulously.

"I don't think so." Ben said.

"Ben, the treasure of Knights Templar is the treasure of all treasures."

"I didn't know that, really?"

"Tag-team sarcasm. Oh joy. Look, Ben, we all have our areas of expertise. You don't think mine is limited to writing checks, do you? I've arranged a number of operations of… questionable legality."

"I would take his word for it if I were you." Shaw spoke up.

"I'll make all the arrangements." Ian said finally

"No." Ben protested.

"I need your help here."

"You really think he's going to help you?" Lyssie asked, only getting another glare from Ian.

"I'm not. And I'm not going to let you do it either."

"OK, from this point on, all you're going to be is a hindrance." Ian waved to Shaw, who pulled a gun from inside his coat and pointed it directly at Ben.

"Hey!" Riley shouted. Lyssie just stared at the gun fearfully.

"What are you going to do? You going to shoot me Shaw? Well you can't shoot. There's more to the riddle. Information you don't have, I do. I'm the only wone who can figure it out, you know that."

"Ben…" Lyssie warned softly.

"He's bluffing."

"We play poker together, Ian. You know I can't bluff." Ben reminded him.

"Tell me what I need to know," Ian said, as Shaw pointed the gun at Lyssie. "Or I'll shoot the girl."

"Leave her out of this Ian." Ben objected.

"Quiet, or he will shoot her." Ian shouted. Ben suddenly grabbed a flare and lit it, turning the attention back to him.

"Look where you're standing. All that gunpowder. You shoot me, I drop this, we all go up."

"Ben…" Lyssie warned. She ran over closer to where Riley was standing. "He won't…"

"I don't know." Riley whispered. Lyssie turned her attention back to Ben.

"You need to know… if Shaw can catch!" Ben threw the flare. Lyssie squeezed her eyes shut, expecting an explosion. She opened her eyes. Ian had caught the flare.

"Nice try, though, Ben." Suddenly Ian's arm caught fire. He dropped the flare. Lyssie screamed as everything ignited around them. Ian and Shaw ran out, slamming the door. Lyssie turned pale, coughing and choking in the smoke.

"You guys, get over here!" Ben called from across the hold. Lyssie quickly followed Riley to where Ben stood.

"What is this?" Riley asked.

"Smuggler's hold. Get in!" Ben crawled in, then Lyssie and Riley. "Follow me!" The crawled deeper into the tunnel, shutting a door. Then came the explosion. After everything had settled, they climbed out of the wreckage. Lyssie sat down in the snow and started sobbing. Riley sat down beside her.

"Are you OK? Are you hurt?" Riley asked softly. Lyssie shook her head.

"Bad memories." Lyssie whispered. She was remembering only about three years earlier when everything had gone so wrong… It all came back in pieces…

_-Flashback-_

_The plane crash…_

_Running…_

_Escaping…_

_Hard to breathe…_

_Getting out…_

_Dust…_

_Watching…_

_Another plane…_

_People jumping…_

_The collapse…_

_A cloud of dust…_

_So much destruction…_

_The flames and smoke…_

_The second collapse…_

_Horror…_

_Nothing left…_

_Bodies…_

_Death…_

_The Towers…_

_Gone…_

_-End of Flashback-_

The tears streamed freely down her cheeks. Neither of them knew what horrors she had encountered that day. She had only been about twenty floors up, so she got out in time. But so many friends and co-workers were just… gone. It only took something small to trigger a full blown memory. Riley gently stroked her long dark hair, not sure of what to say to her.

"There's an Inuit village about 9 miles east of here." Ben said softly. Lyssie sighed, wiping her face and standing up.

"I'll be OK." She said softly. "We should go." She started walking. The men looked at each other and followed her across the snow.

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**This chapter took a while, what with school and such, so forgive me. I hope it's good. Maybe the length will make up for it?**

**I hope everyone understands the flashback. It'll be explained more in the next chapter. **


	4. Archives

**I lied. I won't include the memory like I said.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own National Treasure. I've asked to own Riley, but they won't let me. -pout-**

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Lyssie, Ben and Riley walked out of the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building, slightly discouraged. They'd been to the FBI and The Dept. of Homeland Security, and neither group believed the story.

"Is it really so hard to believe someone's going to steal the Declaration of Independence?"

"The FBI gets 10,000 tips a week. They aren't going to worry about something they're sure is safe." Ben pointed out.

"I still don't get why no one believes us. If I heard that someone was going to steal it, I'd at least check it out!" Lyssie exclaimed.

"Guys, anyone who can do anything is going to think we're crazy. And anyone crazy enough to believe us isn't going to want to help."

"We're not crazy, but one step short of crazy. What do you get?"

"Weird?" Lyssie asked.

"Obsessed." Riley said.

"Passionate." Ben corrected, walking away. Riley and Lyssie glanced at each other and followed him.

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The three of them sat in the National Archives, waiting to speak to a Dr. Chase. Ben reached over Riley, picking up a pamphlet. Lyssie sighed, getting impatient. She tapped her fingers on the table beside her.

"Dr. Chase will see you now, Mr. Brown." The assistant told Ben.

"Mr. Brown?"

"My family name doesn't get a lot of respect in the academic community." Ben whispered.

"So you're being kept down the man." They all entered the office to find a woman behind the desk. "Very cute man." Lyssie elbowed Riley in the side. "Hey!" He whispered.

"Thank you." The woman stood up and walked around the desk to introduce herself. "Good afternoon."

"Hi." Riley greeted.

"Abigail Chase."

"Paul Brown." Ben greeted.

"Nice to meet you."

"Paige Andrews." Lyssie smiled.

"Hello." Abigail smiled back.

"Bill." Riley said quickly.

"Nice to meet you… Bill." Abigail sounded unsure.

"He's my brother." Lyssie said quickly, giving Riley a _you-can-thank-me-for-this-later_ look. He nodded.

"I see. How can I help you?" Abigail asked.

"Your accent? Pennsylvania Dutch?" Ben asked. Lyssie rolled her eyes.

"Saxony-German." Abigail corrected.

"So you're not American?" Riley asked. Lyssie elbowed him again.

"I am an American, I just wasn't born here. Please don't touch that." Abigail turned to Ben suddenly.

"Sorry. Neat collection." Ben was looking at some kind of display. "George Washington campaign buttons. You're missing the 1789 inaugural though. I found one once."

"That's very fortunate for you." Abigail did not sound impressed. "Now, you told my assistant this was an urgent matter." She reminded them. Ben and Riley sat down, and Lyssie pulled up a chair out of the corner and sat down as well.

"Yes ma'am. Well, I am going to get right to the point. Someone's going to steal the Declaration of Independence." Ben said seriously.

"It's true." Riley added. Lyssie nodded.

"I think I better put you three in touch with the FBI…" Abigail reached for her phone.

"We've already been to the FBI." Lyssie told her.

"And…"

"They assured us that the Declaration could not possibly be stolen." Riley said in a voice that was obviously mocking the agent they'd spoken to.

"They're right." Abigail agreed.

"My friends and I are less certain. However, if we were given the privilege of examining the document, we would be able to tell you for certain if it were in any danger." Ben said.

"What do you think you're going to find?" Abigail asked. Lyssie drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair, slowly losing what was left of her patience.

"We believe there is an… encryption on the back." Ben said uncomfortably.

"An encryption of what?" Abigail asked, as if she were speaking to someone guilty of something.

"Uh… A cartograph." Lyssie could tell Ben was squirming as he spoke.

"A map?"

"Yes ma'am.

"A map of what?" Abigail pressed on.

"The location of hidden items of … historic and intrinsic value." Ben cleared his throat when he paused.

"A treasure map?"

"That's where we lost the FBI." Riley muttered.

"You're treasure hunters, aren't you?" Abigail asked, as if she were almost curious.

"We're more like treasure protectors." Ben corrected.

"Mr. Brown, I have personally seen the back of the Declaration of Independence, and I promise you the only thing there is a notation that reads 'original Declaration of Independence dated…"

"July 4th 1776. Yes ma'am." Ben finished.

"But no map." Abigail said simply. Ben looked to Lyssie first, who stared into her lap, and then Riley, who shook his head gently as if to say. 'Don't even bother.' Ben sighed.

"It's invisible."

"Oh… right."

"And that's where we lost the Dept. of Homeland Security."

"Why would we make this up?" Lyssie asked. Abigail avoided the question.

"What led you to assume there's this invisible map?"

"We found an engraving on the stem of a 200-year-old pipe." Ben said.

"Owned by Freemasons." Riley added.

"Which we no longer have because the person who we suspect is going to steal the Declaration took it." Lyssie finished. Abigail leaned forward.

"Did Bigfoot take it?" She asked. Ben had apparently lost all his patience with this woman, because he stood from his chair.

"It was nice meeting you." He said.

"Nice meeting you too." Abigail said softly.

"You know that really is a nice collection. Must've taken you a long time to hunt down all that history." Ben commented. Abigail's lips formed a small smile as the trio left the room. They walked out to the display room.

"If it's any consolation, you had me convinced." Riley said.

"It's not." Ben said softly.

"Don't be discouraged. We'll stop him." Lyssie said softly, patting Ben's back.

"I was thinking, what if we plaster the story all over the internet? It's like we have our- OW!" Riley shouted after being elbowed for the third time that day. "By the way, thanks for the save."

"You're welcome."

"180 years of searching and I'm 3 feet away. Of all the ideas that became the United States, there's one line here that's at the heart of all the others. 'But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, its is their duty, to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security.' People don't talk that way anymore." Ben said almost sadly.

"I can see why." Lyssie said irritably.

"I have no idea what you said." Riley shook his head.

"It means those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action." Ben glanced at the document. "I'm going to steal it." He whispered.

"What?" Riley and Lyssie asked together.

"I'm going to steal the Declaration of Independence." Ben walked away. Riley and Lyssie glanced at each other, eyes wide.

"Uh… Ben?" Riley called, motioning Lyssie to follow out of the building. She rolled her eyes. She was getting the feeling this would be a long week.


	5. It Might

"This is huge. Prison huge. You will go to prison, you know that, right?" Riley asked. The threesome was currently sitting outside the Lincoln memorial, hwere they were trying to figure out what to do next.

"Yeah, probably." Ben admitted.

"That would bother most people." Riley said softly.

"Guys, look, Ian's going to steal unless we can do something to stop him." Lyssie put emphasis on the last two words. She looked both of them in the eyes as she spoke. "Ben actually has a plan. Do you have any better ideas, Riley?"

"Sure, how about not going to prison? Ben, for god's sake, it's like… It's like stealing a national monument. It's like stealing him." Riley motioned at the statue of Abraham Lincoln behind them. " It's not that it shouldn't be done. It _can't_ be done. Let me prove it to you." Riley started down the steps.

"Can we stay in one place for more than fifteen minutes?" Lyssie groaned. Ben shrugged.

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"Okay, Ben, Lyssie, pay attention. I've brought you to the Library of Congress. Why? Because it's the biggest library in the world. Over 20 million books. And they're all saying the same thing. Listen to Riley." Riley told them. Lyssie rolled her eyes.

"Really? I can't hear anything except you trying to tell us that you're right and Ben's wrong." Lyssie gave Riley a look. Riley glared.

"I'm not finished." Riley shuffled through some papers. "What we have here, my friends, is an entire layout of the Archives. We've got builder's blueprints, construction orders, phone bills, water and sewage. It's all here. Now, when the Declaration is on display, it's surrounded by guards, and video monitors, and little families from Iowa, and little kids on their 8th grade field trips. And beneath and inch of bullet-proof glass is an army of sensors and heat monitors that go off if someone gets too close with a high fever." Lyssie sighed as Riley kept talking. "When it's not on display, it is lowered into a 4 foot think, concrete, steel plated vault that happens to be equipped with an electric combination lock and biometric access and denial systems." Riley finished, rather proud of himself.

"Do you… _ever… _stop talking?" Lyssie asked. Riley just glared at her again.

"Moving on." Ben said. "Did you know Thomas Edison tried and failed nearly 2,000 times to develop the carbonized cotton thread filament for the incandescent light bulb?"

"What does that have to with…" Lyssie began before Ben interrupted.

"I'm getting to that. He said 'I didn't fail, I just found 2,000 ways not to make a light bulb.' But he only needed one way to make it work." Ben handed a book over the counter to Riley. "The preservation room. Enjoy, go ahead. Do you know what the preservation is for?"

"Delicious jams and jellies?" Riley asked, confused. Lyssie giggled.

"No, Riley." Lyssie couldn't help laughing.

"That's where they clean, maintain, and repair all the documents and storage housings when they aren't on display or in the vault. Now when the case needs work…"

"They take it to the preservation room?" Lyssie guessed.

"You catch on quickly. Yes, they take it to the preservation room. The best time for us, or Ian, to steal it would be during the Gala this weekend, when the guards are distracted by the VIPs upstairs. But we'll make our way to the preservation room where there's much less security." Ben finished. Riley flipped the pages of the book.

"Huh…well if Ian…Preservation room… The gala… this might be possible." Riley looked up. Ben nodded.

"It might."

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**The next chapter is when the action comes in. And maybe even some romance…. –hint hint- Review please!**


	6. The Plan

**I thought you might like to be warned there's a swear word in this chapter. Of course, if you heard gunshots, you'd probably be swearing too... So, you have been warned.**

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They arrived outside the Archives around 7 PM. Riley tried to protest one last time.

"Ben are you sure we should do th-" Riley was abruptly cut off by the slamming of the van door. Riley and Lyssie put on their headsets.

"Can you hear me?" Ben asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Riley replied. Lyssie elbowed him. "Do you enjoy doing that?" He asked, irritated. Lyssie grinned.

"Yes. And yes, I can hear you, Ben." Lyssie said over the headset. The pair patiently waited.

"You honestly think he's going to pull this off?" Riley asked nervously.

"Let's hope he can." Lyssie said softly. "Where are you, Ben?"

"I'm in the bathroom." Ben said quietly.

"How do you look?" Riley asked. Lyssie couldn't help but giggle.

"Not bad."

"Mazel tov." Riley complimented. More waiting, then Ben's voice. But he wasn't talking to them.

"For you."

"Oh, Mr. Brown."

"Dr. Chase."

"What are you doing here?"

"Is that that hot girl? How does she look?" More elbowing. "Will you stop it?"

"No." Lyssie giggled. "I wish I'd nkown it would take this long. I'd have brought a book."

"You've got me here." Riley pointed out. Lyssie laid her head on Riley's arm.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Come on Romeo, get out of there." Riley said to Ben, trying to speed it up. Ben kept talking. After a while, they heard another man's voice. "Who's the stiff?"

"Here, why don't I take this, so you can take that off his hands." Ben said to Abigail. " A toast, yeah? To high treason…" Ben began. Lyssie's eyes fluttered.

"It's 7:30, Lys." Riley said.

"I didn't sleep a wink last night." Lyssie mumbled. Riley played with her dark brown hair. Suddenly, Lyssie looked up. His blue eyes locked with her hazel ones. Lyssie moved forward. Their lips brushed. She gently pressed forward slightly, her lips on his. She stayed for a moment before pulling away. Lyssie's cheeks turned pink as she returned her head against his arm. Riley smiled to himself.

"It's working. It's working." Ben voice came back over the headset.

"Unbelievable." Riley said softly. After a few minutes, Ben spoke again.

"We're in the elevator."

"No, you're in the elevator." Lyssie reminded him.

"You know what I mean." Ben sighed.

"OK, I'm going to turn of the surveillance camera. Ready? In 5…4…3…" Riley did a few things with his computer. "Ben Gates, you are now the invisible man." Lyssie glanced up at the computer. She sat up slowly, watching. "Give me the letters of her password. Hit me." Riley said.

"A…E…F…G…L…O…R…V…Y." Ben listed. Riley typed them into a program.

"Anagrams being listed. Top results, a glove fry, a very golf, fargo levy, gravy floe, valey frog…" Riley listed.

"Valley forge." Lyssie mumbled.

"I don't think I have that one." Riley said thoughtfully.

"She's right, it's valley forge. She pressed E and L twice." Ben said. Lyssie stuck out her tongue at Riley. She looked at the computer as Ben walked into the preservation room and posed for the camera. Lyssie rolled her eyes.

"Hello." Riley said. They watched Ben start removing screws from the case. "Ben you're doing great. After a few more seconds, Riley started to get nervous. "Ben, pick it up."

"Relax. He's fine." Lyssie assured him.

"You've got about one more…" Suddenly the video went fuzzy.

"What happened?" Lyssie asked nervously.

"I lost my feed. I lost my feed, Ben. I don't know where anyone is. I have noth… Ben, I have nothing. Get out of there. Get out of there now." Riley told him firmly.

"I'm taking the whole thing. I'll get it out in the elevator." Ben said calmly.

"What are you talking… I s it heavy?" Riley asked. Lyssie looked at him strangely.

"You have the worst timing." Suddenly short explosions rang over the headset. "What the hell was that, Ben?" Lyssie nearly shouted.

"Who's shooting?" Riley asked. Nothing. "Ben, you still there? Ben?!"

"I'm in the elevator. Ian's here. He was shooting." Ben explained, pretty calmy for someone who'd just been shot at.

"I hate that guy." Riley mumbled.

"How did he find us?" Lyssie asked.

"He didn't find us. He found the declaration. We just happen to with it." Riley explained, trying to calm her down.

"We should probably get ready for when Ben comes." Lyssie took off her headset.\ and moved to the passenger seat. She felt herself doze off kind of until she heard Riley settle into the seat beside her. She felt like this might be a long night.


	7. Chases

**Disclaimer (I remembered this time!) : I don't own National Treasure, as you know. If I did, would I spend time writing fan fiction? I'd be making movies!**

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A few minutes later, Ben walked out of the Archives.

"Start the van." Ben said to Riley over the headset. Riley turned the key.

"Ben, the, uh, mean declaration lady's behind you." Riley said quietly. Ben walked up to the van and slid a tube into the back.

"Hey." Abigail called.

"Oh, it's you." Ben looked from behind the door.

"Mr. Brown, what's going on? What's that?"

"A souvenir." Ben answered.

"Really?" Abigail sounded like she didn't believe him. Suddenly the alarms started going off. Lyssie groaned, pressing her back against the seat.

"Oh my god…" Riley said softly.

"Oh my god, you did not… Give me that!" Abigail grabbed the tube from Ben.

"Take it, It's yours."

"Security!" Abigail called, crossing the street slowly. Ben jumped in the back of the van.

"Go!"

"What? We can't just let her go!" Riley protested.

"We can, go!" Ben called. Riley was about to go when Ben suddenly stopped him. "Wait, hold it. Hold it. Bad, bad, bad, bad!" Ben threw open the door and tried to get out of the van. Someone started shooting. Riley's window was blown out. Lyssie pressed herself back into her seat, praying not get hit. Somebody grabbed Abigail and pulled her into a van across the street. Ben jumped back into the van.

"Go! Go!" He shouted. Riley sped down the street.

"What just happened?" Lyssie asked in a confused panic.

"Ian just kidnapped Dr.Chase." Ben explained quickly.

"Once we catch them ,what do we do?" Riley asked Ben as he sped down the street after Ian's van.

"I'm working on it!" Ben shouted. The van in front of them turned sharply.

"Right turn, right turn." Riley turned the steering wheel sharply. The vans were headed for a construction zone.

"Skidding, skidding." Riley muttered. The van bounced around over the mounds of dirt. Lyssie was speechless, panicking. She watched as the back door to the van in front of them opened, Dr. Chase swinging off the top of it.

"Oh no." Ben said.

"Holy lord." Riley muttered.

"That is really unfortunate, now isn't it?" Lyssie asked softly. Ben opened the door, trying to grab Abigail before she fell. The nearly collided with a bus in the process. Shaw started shooting as Ben grabbed Abigail and she jumped into the van. Ben quickly shut the door.

"You alright?" Ben asked Abigail, who appeared to be panicking.

"No, those lunatics…They stole…"

"You're not hurt are you?" Ben questioned.

"You're all lunatics!" Abigail went on.

"You hungry?" Ben asked out of the blue.

"What?" Abigail was now confused.

"That's a rather random question." Lyssie pointed out.

"Are you alright?" Ben repeated.

"Still a little on edge from being shot at, but I'll be OK, thanks for asking." Riley answered. Lyssie saw small cuts on Riley's cheek, small shards of glass shining in his black hair.

" Well, I'm not alright! Those men have the Declaration of Independence!" Abigail cried. Ben moved towards the back of the van and picked up a tube. He slid off the cap.

"They don't have it." Ben slid out the document for Abigail to see. "See? OK? Now, could you please stop shouting?" Ben asked, sounding mildly irritated.

"Yes, really. I think I'm deaf in right ear." Lyssie complained, rubbing her ear.

"Give me that!" Abigail grabbed at the document case.

"You're still shouting, and it's really starting to annoy. You'd do well, Dr. Chase, to be a bit more civilized in this instance." Ben pointed. Riley smiled to himself. Lyssie brushed a few shards of glass off of her sleeve.

"If this is the real one, what did they get?" Abigail continued.

"Souvenir. I thought it might be a good idea to have a duplicate. Turned out I was right. I had to pay for both the souvenir and the real one, so you owe 35 dollars, plus tax." Ben smiled.

"Genius." Riley grinned.

"Who were those men?" Abigail asked.

"The men we told you about before. We told you someone would steal it." Lyssie pointed out.

"You didn't tell you would be the ones doing the stealing!" Abigail shouted.

"We did what we had to keep it safe." Ben told her calmly.

"Verdammt… Give me that!" Abigail tried grabbing at the document again.

"You know what, you're shouting again." Ben reminded her.

"And swearing." Lyssie pointed out.

"We probably deserve that." Ben admitted. Lyssie looked at Riley, brushing the glass from his hair.

"You OK?" Lyssie asked softly.

"I'm fine." Riley said.

"Why did you steal it?" Abigail asked.

"We explained our reasons when we visited you." Ben reminded her.

"There is not an invisible treasure map on the declaration of independence!" Abigail shouted in frustration.

"And there is no chance," Ben shook the document as he spoke. "anyone could steal this, either. I level with you 100 percent. Everything I told you was the truth." Abigail wouldn't be defeated.

"I want that document, Mr. Brown!" Abigail told him.

"OK, my name's not Brown, it's Gates. I level with you 98 percent." Ben admitted. Abigail's eyes grew wide.

"Wait a minute, did you just say Gates?" Abigail asked. Riley winced at her sharp tone. "Gates? You're that family with the conspiracy with about the founding fathers."

"It's not a conspiracy theory." Ben protested.

"Per se." Riley muttered.

"That's not nice." Lyssie whispered.

"I take it back. You're not liars. You're insane!" Abigail exclaimed. "How do you exactly plan to find this invisible map?"

"Well… we might need to run some tests on it." Ben said slowly.

"You can't seriously intend to run chemical tests on the Declaration of Independence in the back of a moving van." Abigail protested. Lyssie sighed, irritated.

"We have a clean environment all set up. Now, would you do us a favor and be quiet please!" She shouted. Abigail sat back.

"We can't go back there." Ben admitted.

"What? Why not?" Riley asked.

"I paid for the Declaration with a credit card. I didn't have enough cash…." Ben began.

"A credit card slip? Dude, we're on the grid! They're going to have your records from forever. They're going to have _my _records for forever!" Riley exclaimed.

"Really, that wasn't one of your better plans." Lyssie sighed.

"I know, I know. It's only a matter of minutes before the FBI shows up at my front door." Ben sighed.

"What do we do now?" Lyssie asked.

"We need those letters." Ben said.

"What letters?" Lyssie and Abigail asked together.

"You know what, get off the road, take a right." Ben said to Riley. Abigail persisted.

"What letters?"

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**I hope you liked this chapter!**


	8. Next Move

"You have the original Silence Dogood letters? Did you steal them too?" Abigail asked. The group had stopped at a park across from the Jefferson Memorial. They were trying to figure out their next move.

"I have scans of the originals. Quiet please." Ben paced back and forth in front of Abigail, who sat on the floor of the van with the door open. Lyssie sat in the passenger seat, and Riley sat next to Abigail.

"How did you get scans?" Abigail persisted.

"I know the person who has the originals. Now _shush._"

"Why do you need them?" Abigail asked.

"She really can't shut her mouth, can she?" Ben asked.

"I don't think so. No." Lyssie shook her head.

"Now, look, I will let you hold this if you promise to shut up. Thank you." Ben handed Abigail the document case.

"Ben, you know what you have to do." Riley told him.

"I know what to do. I'm just trying to think anything else we could do." Ben sighed.

"Don't want to face him, huh?" Lyssie smiled at Ben.

"Not to be a…uh, nudge, but do know how many people we have after us? We probably have our satellite by now. It took all of 2 seconds for you to decide to steal the Declaration of Independence." Riley reminded him.

"Yeah, but I didn't think I'd have to personally have to tell my dad about it!" Ben shouted. Suddenly Abigail jumped up and started running. "Hey, not cool. Not cool!" Ben ran after her and grabbed her arm.

"Let me go!" Abigail cried. Ben grabbed the Declaration and let her go.

"You're let go. Now shoo." Ben made shooing motions with his hands.

"I'm not going. Not without the Declaration." Abigail said, grabbing the case.

"Well, you're not going with the Declaration." Ben pulled the case back.

"He likes her, doesn't he?" Lyssie whispered to Riley.

"Probably." He whispered back.

"Look, if you wanted to leave me behind, you shouldn't have told me where you were going." Abigail pointed out.

"She has point, Ben." Lyssie pointed out. Ben sighed, knowing they were right.

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A few hours later, they pulled up in front of Mr. Gates' house.

"Looks OK." Riley observed.

"Park a couple blocks away." Ben told him.

"How long do think we got?" Riley asked.

"Give them a couple hours, at least. I hope." Ben loosened his tie.

"Yeah, I hope, or we're going to be in a little trouble." Lyssie said.

"What do we do about her? I got some duct tape in the back…" Riley began. Abigail's eyes grew wide.

"No, that won't be necessary. She won't be any trouble. Promise you won't be any trouble?" Ben asked Abigail.

"I promise." Abigail rolled her eyes.

"See? She's curious." Ben smiled. They parked the van and walked up to the door. Ben rang the bell. Mr. Gates opened the door. Ben smiled.

"Dad."

"Where's the party?" Mr. Gates asked.

"Well…uh… I'm in a little trouble." Ben said awkwardly. His father eyed Abigail and Lyssie.

"Is one of them pregnant?" He asked. Lyssie started choking on her spit.

"Actually, sir," Riley wrapped his arm around Lyssie. "She's my girl." Mr. Gates nodded.

"Is she pregnant too?"

"Um… maybe." Riley said slowly. Lyssie gave him a deadly look.

"Well, Dad, if the girls are, would leave them out in the cold." Ben asked weakly. Mr. Gates let the group in the house. Lyssie pulled Riley aside.

"What did you do that for?"

"I was trying to cover for Ben, OK? Relax." Riley whispered.

"This better not be about that dumb treasure. Well, have a seat. There's some pizza. Still warm, I think." Mr. Gates motioned to the table. Lyssie stood next to Riley and Abigail.

"Dad, I need the Silence Dogood letters. Yeah, it's about the treasure." Ben said.

"And he dragged you three into this nonsense?" Mr. Gates asked.

"Literally." Abigail answered.

"I volunteered." Riley smiled weakly.

"Me too." Lyssie said.

"Well, unvolunteer before you waste your life." Mr. Gates said irritably. Lyssie winced.

"Harsh." She whispered. Riley sat on the couch and grabbed a piece of pizza. Lyssie sat beside him and took a piece.

"I thought you ate before we left." Riley said.

"What?" Lyssie asked innocently. "Aren't I eating for two?"

"Very funny." Riley said with a mouthful of pizza.

"Of course, I know. I'm the family kook. I have a house, a job, health insurance. At least I had your mother, for however brief a time. What do you have? Them?" Mr. Gates motioned to the couple on the couch, eating pizza. They looked up.

"Look, if you just give us the letters we're gone." Ben said,

"You disappoint me Ben." Mr. Gates said sadly.

"Well, maybe that's the real Gates family legacy. Sons who disappoint their fathers." Ben said angrily.

"Again. Harsh." Lyssie whispered.

"Get out. Take your troubles with you." Mr. Gates said. Ben paused.

"I found the Charlotte."

"The Charlotte? You mean she was a ship?" Mr. Gates asked, his expression changing suddenly.

"Yeah. She was beautiful. It was amazing dad."

"Yeah, she was pretty. Until she got blown up." Lyssie added.

"Blown up?" Mr. Gates asked.

"Yeah, you see, Ben decided to light a flare, because this guy threatened to shoot him, and it was all very confusing." Lyssie explained.

"Oh… And the treasure?" Mr. Gates asked.

"No, no, but we found another clue, which lead us here…" Ben began.

"And that will lead to another clue, and that's all you'll ever find is another clue. Don't you get it Ben?" Mr. Gates asked. "I finally figured it out. The legend said the treasure was buried to keep it from the British. But what really happened was, the legend was invented to keep the British occupied searching for buried treasure. The treasure is a myth."

"I refuse to believe that." Ben said.

You can believe what you want. You're a grown person. What am I doing? Do what you want, Ben. Do what you want."

"He might be right Ben." Lyssie said. "You're not sure if there's a clue after this. What if we end up with nothing?" Ben smiled.

"Well, I can think of a way we can find out. And we can find out right now."

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**I hope you liked the chapter. I'll update ASAP with the next chappie. Don't be afraid to press the magic purpley button!**


	9. This is the Declaration of Independence!

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own National Treasure, or anything else either, except Lyssie. And I'm not getting paid to write this. I don't own Riley either. Face it. I don't own anything important.**

It took almost five minutes to gather the materials they would need. Lyssie rested her elbow on the table, barely able to prop up her head. Ben had, unfortunately, failed to mention that sleep would not be on the night's agenda. Lyssie's eyelids fluttered. Riley sat beside her while the others were looking around for supplies. Riley couldn't help but laugh when she slid off of her stool, falling to the ground with a soft 'thump'.

"Are you OK?" Riley asked her as he slowly stopped laughing.

"Fine." Lyssie said, pulling herself back up onto the stool, her cheeks red. "I'm just tired."

"Join the club. We've got jackets." Riley smiled. Ben returned with a bowl of lemon slices and Abigail came back with Q-Tips. Ben pulled out the Declaration, gently laying it flat on the table. Mr. Gates walked by, watching them.

"Looks like animal skin. How old is it?" He asked.

"At least 200 years." Ben answered.

"Really? You sure?" Mr. Gates asked.

"Pretty darn." Ben sighed.

"Now, if this thing is invisible ink, how do we look at it?" Riley asked. Lyssie rolled her eyes.

"Really, do you have eyes?" Lyssie asked sarcastically. She slapped him playfully. He pulled away his arm in mock anger and pushed her softly.

"Throw it in the oven." Mr. Gates suggested.

"Don't think so." Lyssie shook her head vigorously.

"Higher sulfate inks can only be brought out with heat." He pointed out.

"But this…" Abigail started.

"It's very old. We can't risk compromising the map." Ben told him.

"You need a reagent." Mr. Gates told him.

"Dad, it's really late. Why don't you get some rest?" Ben suggested. His father walked into the living room.

"I'm fine."

Ben sighed. "Lemons." Abigail handed him the bowl. He picked up a slice and got ready to squeeze it when Abigail grabbed his wrist.

"And the awkwardness continues." Lyssie mumbled.

"You can't do that." Abigail told him.

"But it has to be done." Ben argued.

"Then somebody trained to handle antique documents is gonna do it." Abigail argued back.

"Yes, that's actually a good point." Lyssie pointed out. She thought for a moment. "I wonder if any one will notice the Declaration of Independence smells like lemons." The others looked at her strangely. "What? It could happen."

"I don't know. Can we just hurry up with this?" Riley asked impatiently.

"Okay." Ben handed Abigail the lemon slices.

"Now, if there is an invisible message, it will probably be marked by a symbol in the upper right hand corner." Abigail told nobody in particular.

"That's right." Ben nodded.

"I am so getting fired for this." Abigail mumbled to herself. She carefully wiped the juice on the Q-tip, and then wiped it in the corner. When nothing happened, she gave Ben an 'I-told-you-so' look, while Lyssie slumped back in disappointment.

"Well, we've stolen the Declaration, nothing's on the back. What now? Give it back and turn ourselves in?"

"I told you." Ben's father suddenly spoke. "You need heat." Ben and Abigail glanced at each other, and bent forward, still looking at each other. They breathed softly on the paper, and a small symbol appeared in the corner. Lyssie leaned forward as the symbol faded back into the paper.

"We need more juice."

"We need more heat." Ben and Abigail spoke simultaneously and left the room again. Lyssie laid her head down with a thud, preparing for what she now knew would be a long night.

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"It's not a map. Is it?" Riley asked. A few minutes after they'd left, Ben and Abigail had returned with a blow dryer and more lemons. Riley and Lyssie peered at the numbers.

"It looks like some kind of code." Lyssie observed.

"Are those latitudes and longitudes?" Riley asked.

"We need the Silence Dogood letters." Ben said as he quickly wrote down the numbers that appeared on the paper.

"That's the key?" Abigail asked.

"The key in Silence undetected. Dad, can we have the letters now?" Ben asked his father, who watched them record the numbers.

"Will someone please explain to me what these magic numbers are?" Riley pestered.

"Yeah. I'm not exactly a code person." Lyssie sighed.

"It's an Ottendorf cipher." Abigail told them.

"Right." Ben's father nodded.

"OK." Riley paused. "What's an Ottendorf cipher?" Lyssie groaned, her head falling back to the table. Ben looked up at her.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I'm really tired." Came Lyssie's muffled response.

"I think that's kind of obvious." Ben pointed out. He looked at the paper. "Each of these numbers corresponds to a word in the key."

"Usually a random book or newspaper article." Abigail added, setting down the blow dryer.

"In this case the Silence Dogood letters. So, it's like that page number of the key text, the line on the page, and the letter in that line. So Dad, where are the letters?" Ben asked.

"You know, it's just by sheer happenstance that his grandfather…" Mr. Gates began.

"Dad." Ben attempted to interrupt.

"…even found the letters. They were…"

"You're stalling." Lyssie said in sing-song.

"Dad, where are the letters?" Ben repeated. Mr. Gates looked at him uncomfortably.

"I don't have them son."

"What?" Ben asked.

"I don't have them." His father repeated. Ben sat back in a chair, pulling off the gloves he wore with his teeth.

"Where are they?" Ben asked calmly.

"I donated them to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia." His father explained. Ben nodded to the others.

"Time to go."

"Can't we stay in one place for more than an hour?" Lyssie complained, standing up form her chair. Abigail stood, staring at the document.

"After all this time, nobody knew it was on the back." She said softly.

"The back of what?" Ben's father asked, making a move for the document.

"No!" Ben cried.

"Wait!" Lyssie wailed. She fell back into her seat as the older man looked at the front of the paper.

"Oh my god. Oh my god!" Ben's father didn't sound very happy.

"I know." Ben told him

"Oh my god! What have you done? This is…This is…"

"I know!" Ben exclaimed.

"This is the Declaration of Independence." Mr. Gates looked as if he might faint. Abigail quickly and gently took the document away from him.

"And it's very delicate." She told him. The man looked accusingly at the group.

"You stole it?" He asked in a very accusing tone. Riley pointed at Ben, and Lyssie buried her face in her hands.

"Dad, I can explain, but I don't have time. It was necessary. You saw the cipher." Ben reminded him.

"And that will lead to another clue. And that will lead to another clue. And thjat's you'll ever find. There is no treasure. I wasted 20 years of my life, and now you've destroyed yours." Ben's father chided him. "And you pulled me into this." Ben looked at his father seriously.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?"

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About half an hour later, the group was driving in Ben's father's car to Philadelphia. Riley curled up in the back seat, while Lyssie lay in front of him. Abigail sat in the passenger seat, and Ben drove.

"Your dad's got a sweet ride." Riley mumbled, his eyes shut. Lyssie mumbled something inaudible in agreement.

"I think we should change clothes. We look kind of conspicuous, don't you think?" Ben asked Abigail.

"Not at all. You're just in a tux and a ball gown. That wouldn't tip anybody off." Lyssie said sarcastically.

"I'd like to go shopping too, but we have no money." Riley reminded them. Ben handed Abigail a book.

"Here, I took this from his house. He usually tucks a few hundred dollars between the pages."

"Common Sense. How appropriate." Abigail said to no one in particular.

"Of course." Lyssie replied.

"When are we going to get there? I'm hungry. This car smells weird." Riley said tiredly. Despite her exhaustion, Lyssie giggled. She snuggled herself in and attempted to get the one thing she'd been longing for. Sleep.

**I'm sorry it took so long. It's pretty long, though. I hope you like.**

**See that purple button? Press the purple button. You know you want to….**


	10. Coffee and Clues

Riley and Lyssie sat outside the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Ben and Abigail had gone to get some new clothes. Lyssie sipped her coffee, which she insisted on getting. She got very mean without her morning coffee. Riley sat beside her, studying parts of the next clue. He had decided it would be better to have someone else gather the letters. So Riley had paid a kid walking down the street to do it.

"Riley?" Lyssie asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" Riley mumbled, in deep concentration.

"About what happened last night. When we were in the van…"

Riley looked up. "Oh. That." His cheeks pinked slightly. "What about it?"

"I was just a little unsure if…If you…" Lyssie stammered.

Riley looked at her. "You're a very beautiful girl." Riley froze. "I said that out loud, didn't I?" Lyssie laughed. She leaned over kissing him softly. She pulled away for a moment, than kissed him again. For some reason, neither of them wanted to pull away. Then came a voice.

"EEEWWWW!!!!" The boy getting the clues had returned. The pair quickly pulled away, both turning several shades of red. The ten-year-old looked mortified. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." They both said quickly

"The clue?" Riley reminded the boy.

"Right. Here. S S A N D." He recited, handing Riley the paper.

"You sure this is right?" Riley asked. The boy gave him a look. Lyssie laughed. "OK. S S A…"

"No, N." The boy interrupted.

"That is an N." Riley told him.

"No it's not." Lyssie argued. "That's an R."

"She's right. It doesn't look like an N." The boy agreed. Riley gave them both looks. He pulled out another dollar bill.

"You know what? Here. Go get the last four letters. Go get 'em chief." Riley handed the boy another dollar bill, and the boy left. "That's not an R!" He nudged Lyssie playfully.

"Is too!" She pushed him back. He pushed her again when her coffee spilled all over her. Lyssie jumped, not expecting her legs to be covered in hot liquid. Riley tried to help clean up the mess.

"Sorry. I'm really sorry." He apologized after they'd wiped up the mess.

"It's fine. What do we have so far?" Lyssie asked.

" 'The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of Pass and… Pass and what?" He looked up, hoping inspiration would strike. Suddenly he saw an ad on the side of a bus. Then it hit him.

"Pass and Stow!" He and Lyssie shouted simultaneously.

"I thought of it first!" Riley shouted.

"No you didn't!" Lyssie argued. He folded up the newspaper. Lyssie grinned and jumped over the wall behind them. "Catch me if you can!" She ran. Riley grinned also, running after her. He finally caught her and grabbed her from behind, lifting her up off the ground. She laughed. Riley changed his expression to look serious.

"Seriously though, I found it first."

**Sorry this is so short; I wanted to finish it tonight. The next chapter will be super long, I promise!**


	11. Independence Hall

When Riley and Lyssie got to Urban Outfitters, they were still arguing about who saw the word first. Ben and Abigail heard them coming and turned around.

"You get it?" Ben asked.

"Oh we got it. 'The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of Pass and Stow.' " Riley read. "No,w Pass and Stow, referring to…

"The Liberty Bell." Ben and Abigail interrupted. Riley looked a bi disappointed.

"Why do you have to do that?" He complained.

"Well, John Pass and John Stow cast the bell." Abigail explained.

"I knew that. And I didn't even pass 9th grade history." Lyssie said, shaking her head.

"What does the rest of this mean?" Riley asked.

"Wait a minute. The vision to see the treasured past must refer to a way to read the map." Ben thought.

"I thought the cipher was the map." Riley said.

"No, the cipher was the way to find the way to read the map." Ben explained. Lyssie and Riley exchanged looks.

"That has to be the most confusing sentence I've ever heard." Lyssie told him.

"The way to read the map comes as the timely shadow passes in front of the Liberty Bell." Abigail explained.

"Crosses in front of the house of the Liberty Bell. Independence Hall." Ben corrected.

"Timely shadow. It must be a specific time." Abigail thought aloud.

"What time?" Lyssie asked.

"What time?" Ben repeated. His face brightened, and he turned to Abigail. "You're going to love this. Excuse me, can I see one of those hundred dollar bills I paid you with?" He asked the clerk at the counter.

"No."

"Well, I have this diver's watch, it's called a submariner. I dive with it. It's actually quite valuable. You could use it as collateral." Ben handed the woman his watch. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." She took the watch. Ben turned to the others.

"On the back of a hundred dollar bill is an etching of Independence Hall, based on a painting done in the 1780's…."

"Hello?" The clerk handed him the hundred, obviously not impressed by his knowledge.

"Thank you." Ben took the bill. "And the artist was actually a friend of Benjamin Franklin. It's wonderful. Hold this." He handed Abigail the Declaration, hesitating for minute.

"I'm not going anywhere." She smiled.

"How do we see it? Aren't the numbers really tiny?" Lyssie peered at the bill. Ben thought a moment, and then picked up a water bottle.

"If we look through this, we might be able to see the specific time."

"What do you see?" Abigail asked.

"2:22." Ben read.

"What time is it now?" Lyssie asked.

"Almost 3." The store clerk answered.

"We missed it." Abigail said, disappointed.

"No we didn't. We didn't miss it because…" Riley paused, waiting for someone to interrupt. "Wait you don't know this? I know something about history you don't know." He started to sound excited.

"Congratulations." Came Lyssie's sarcastic reply.

"I'd be very excited to learn about it Riley."

"Hold on one second. Let me just… Just take in this moment."

"Is this a big accomplishment for you?" Lyssie asked.

"Yeah. This is cool." Riley smiled to himself. "Is this how you feel all the time, except for now, of course…"

"Riley!" Abigail interjected.

"Alright." Riley said defensively "What I know is that daylight savings time wasn't established until World War 1. So if it's 3 PM now, in 1776, it would be 2 PM."

Ben grinned at Riley. "Riley you're a genius."

"I didn't know that." Lyssie added.

"Let's go." Abigail told them. They started toward the steps.

"Do you know who the first person to suggest Daylight Savings time was?" Riley asked.

"Benjamin Franklin." They all replied. Riley stomped in defeat.

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They walked into Independence Hall, tagging along on the back of a tour before they reached the right room. They climbed up into the bell tower.

"What's this? I know it's not the Liberty Bell." Lyssie peered at the bell intently.

"Centennial Bell. Replaced the Liberty Bell in 1876." Ben answered. They looked over the railing at the shadow.

"There it is." Abigail said softly.

"Alright. I'll go down, and you three meet me in the signing room." Ben nodded, heading back down. Riley paused.

"3:22. My idea." He said with a bit of satisfaction.

"Riley?" Lyssie called.

"Coming."

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"Hey, what'd you score?" Riley asked. The group was waiting in the signing room when Ben arrived. He pulled something from his jacket.

"It's some kind of ocular device." Ben held up a pair of glasses "The vision to see the treasured past? Let me take this." He took the document case as Riley took the glasses.

"They're like early American x-ray specs." Riley said softly. Lyssie couldn't help but laugh.

"As long as you don't get any ideas." She grinned up at him.

"Benjamin Franklin invented something like these." Abigail pointed out.

"What do we do with them?" Riley asked. Lyssie rolled her eyes.

"That's kind of obvious." She told him.

"We look through them." Ben said.

"Help me." Abigail said as she unrolled the Declaration. They carefully unrolled the yellowed paper. Ben let out some kind of sigh.

"What?" Riley looked up.

"It's just that… the last time this was here, it was being signed." Ben said.

"Wow." Lyssie said softly.

"Ben, there's another tour coming." Riley reminded him.

"Turn it over." Ben motioned with his head. Lyssie leaned over, inhaling.

"What are you doing?" Riley asked, looking at her strangely.

"Lemons." She smiled. Ben put on the glasses.

"What do you see?" Abigail asked.

"Is it a treasure map?" Riley asked.

"It says 'Heere at the Wall'. Spelled with 2 Es. Take a look." Ben put out the glasses. Riley grabbed at them, but Abigail got them.

"Wow."

"Why can't they say got to this place, here's the treasure, spend it wisely?" Riley asked.

"Where's the fun in that?" Lyssie asked.

"Well, there's a lower chance of getting killed." Riley pointed out. Ben suddenly looked up, seeing some people he hadn't really wanted to se again.

"Oh no." He pointed towards the window. Riley peered out.

"How'd they find us?" Lyssie asked.

"Ian has nearly unlimited resources. And he's smart." Ben pointed out, rolling up the Declaration.

"I don't think we can get out of here without being spotted." Abigail said.

"Well, we don't want them to have the Declaration or the glasses, but we especially don't want them to have them both together." Ben said.

"So what do we do?" Riley asked.

"We separate the lock from the key. We're splitting up." Ben nodded.

"Good idea." Abigail agreed.

"I'll take this and those." Ben took the empty case and glasses. "You take that. Meet me at the car and call me if there are any problems."

"Like if we get caught and killed?" Riley asked.

"Yeah." Ben nodded. "That'd be a big problem."

**A/N: **


	12. Time to Run

Lyssie watched as Ben walked out of the building.

"Here goes nothing." She breathed. She nodded to Abigail and Riley, and they exited the building. They started walking opposite directions.

"Where are you going?" She grabbed Riley's arm. After a while of walking, they saw the men had caught up.

"Time to run." Riley said. Lyssie ran, her heart beating fast, the pavement pounding beneath her shoes. They turned into a small farmers market. The group tore off in different directions. She decided to hide in a rack of clothes, watching the men with guns walk right by. She could hear her heartbeat echoing in her ears.

She climbed out of the clothes rack to find Riley or Abigail. She suddenly felt someone tapping her shoulder. She let out a shriek as she spun around. Riley shushed her gently.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" She whispered.

"We need to find Abi." Riley reminded her. She nodded. They searched the store, and found her easily.

"Where were you?" She asked.

"Hiding. Come on." Riley motioned. They ran from the store, towards city hall. Suddenly Riley was caught in a group of people as the other two ran ahead. Abigail turned when she accidentally bumped into a biker, falling to the ground. The Declaration fell from her hands, tapping against the road. Lyssie scrambled after it, but a horn suddenly blared in her ears. She looked up, frozen in fear. Then Riley pulled her back.

"What…" A full question couldn't even escape her lips. She saw a truck rolling over where she had been standing. Then there was a pair of shoes. She followed it upwards to the face of Ian Howe. He picked up the Declaration, smiling when he saw it.

Lyssie scrambled to her feet, the other two following. She heard Ian speak to the men who'd been chasing them.

"We've got it."

----------------------------------------

"We lost it." Riley had called Ben to tell him about the recent loss of the Declaration. "We lost the Declaration. Ian took it." Lyssie knew the pauses were when Ben was speaking. "Yeah, yeah, we're alright." Then Riley hung up the phone.

"Now what?" Lyssie sighed. As they turned a corner, her question was answered. She saw Ben being handcuffed. The group quickly turned around, walking back. This was not a pleasant change of plans.

-------------------------------------

The three had gone to a park. Abigail paced, while Riley looked almost ready to cry. Lyssie just sat silently, not sure what to do. Suddenly Abigail turned to Riley.

"Riley, do you know how to get in touch with Ian?" She asked. Riley looked at her disbelief.

"Excuse me?"

"I think I have a plan." Abigail told him. Riley handed her his phone.

"This better be a really good plan if it's going to get us out this mess." Lyssie muttered. Riley nodded in agreement. Abigail finally made a deal with Ian. She snapped the phone shut in satisfaction, looking rather pleased with herself.

"So, what's the plan?" Lyssie asked.

"We're going to New York City."

Lyssie froze. "N-New York?" She stuttered nervously. She didn't think she was ready to go back. Not yet.

"Yes." Abigail nodded. Lyssie took a deep breath. Tomorrow was going to a hard day for her, she was sure of it.

**A/N: I know this chapter's short, but I've been focused on getting to chapter 13 for a while. It'll deal more with what happened to Lyssie than the actual storyline. I'm warning you no****w, if it's a sensitive subject for you, I strongly suggest you don't read it, but it's entirely up to you.**

**Anyways, don't forget to review. I love getting your feedback:D**


	13. Fall

**A/N: I just thought I should mention that this has to be happening this year to be able to work right. So this version of National Treasure (which ,I by the way, do not own. Big surprise there.) takes place in 2007.**

**And you are warned that there are some sad and/or frightening words ahead. And a song. Which I also do not own.**

Almost 3 hours later, they had arrived in New York. They had gotten themselves a reasonable hotel room, needing a place to stay the night. Lyssie looked out the third story window, the orange and pink sky a magnificent backdrop for the Manhattan skyline. Her eyes focused softly on the empty spot. She heard someone walking up behind her.

"Hey, are you OK?" Riley walked up beside the bed where she sat.

"Do you…remember?" Lyssie asked softly. Riley blinked, confused.

"Remember what?" He sat down beside her.

"September. Six years ago." She motioned at the skyline.

"I think so. I remember waking up, turning on CNN, and it showed the towers. I wasn't quite sure what was happening. Then everything put itself together." Riley recalled.

"So, you… watched it?" Lyssie asked. "I lived it." Without waiting for a response, she slowly began speaking.

"I thought I was just going to work, like any other day…"

-------------------------------------

_Lyssie strode through the office towards her boss's desk. She worked for SMW Trading Corporation on the 85__th__ floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. She had been working as an intern for almost a year, hoping to get a job there someday._

"_Here are the files you wanted, Mr. Cowan." She placed some folders on her boss's desk. He nodded and smiled, his ear pressed against a phone. Lyssie walked out of the office and to her small desk. She grabbed her coffee cup, ready to take a sip. Suddenly the building shook and a deafening explosion echoed through the office. Lyssie was thrown against a wall. Almost at once, the room filled with smoke. Everyone in the office was beginning to panic. _

"_What's happening?" Lyssie wondered aloud. Whatever it was, she wasn't taking her chances. She quickly unstrapped her heels, headed for the stairs. She choked on the thick smoke as she descended the stairs. She could feel a bruise on her head where she had been thrown, but she couldn't feel it because of the fear rushing through her._

_After Almost 20 minutes, another explosion came, this one was quieter. She continued down, now skipping over stairs. Once she finally reached the bottom, around 9:55, she was horrified by the scene. Debris was everywhere, things were on fire. And there was blood all over the place. She quickly got out of the building. She managed to find a fireman, to finally figure out what was happening._

"_A plane hit each building." He explained. Lyssie was shocked. Suddenly the ground shook beneath her, a giant plume of dust and debris fell from the sky. Lyssie screamed and ran. She ran into a church, running all the way through to the basement. She sat on the floor for more than five minutes, crying. She finally picked up a phone to call her mother._

_When she finally got through, she began speaking._

"_Mom? I'm alright, I'm OK. I have no idea what's going on, but I'm OK." She left the church, walking home. She turned on the television to see the other tower disappear. She couldn't believe it. The largest buildings in New York were gone. Just gone…_

-------------------------------

Lyssie finished her story. Riley sat in silence, unable to find anything to say to her. He saw her trying not to look upset. He swallowed, getting up to leave. Then he paused.

Lyssie suddenly heard his voice, but he wasn't speaking. He was singing.

_Hold up, there you go again,_

_Putting on that smile again, _

_Even thought I know you've had a bad day._

_Doing this and doing that._

_Always putting yourself last,_

_Too much give and not enough take._

_But you can only be strong so long, _

_Before you break._

_So fall,_

_Go on and fall apart,_

_Fall into these arms of mine, _

_I'll catch you, _

_Everytime you fall, _

_Go on and lose it all,_

_Every doubt, every fear,_

_Every worry, every tear, I'm right here._

_Baby fall._

_Forget about the world tonight,_

_All that's wrong and all that's right,_

_Lay your head on my shoulder,_

_Let it fade away,_

_And if you wanna let go, baby it's OK _

_Fall,_

_Go on and fall apart,_

_Fall into these arms of mine, _

_I'll catch you, _

_Everytime you fall, _

_Go on and lose it all,_

_Every doubt, every fear,_

_Every worry, every tear, I'm right here._

_Baby fall._

Riley stopped singing, unsure of what she might do. Lyssie burst into tears. She held Riley, streaks on her face.

"It's been six…years… and I don't…understand…why!" She sobbed.

"I know." Riley whispered. "And it's OK to not understand. I don't know if anyone does." Lyssie's sobs quieted. She looked up, and kissed him, the taste of tears still on her lips. She could feel his hand on the back of her head, holding it. She somehow knew things might be OK, as long as she had him.

**A/n: I was not expecting to write something that fluffy for the end of the chapter. But I heard that song on the radio yesterday and I was like "It's perfect!" So, yeah. **

**I tried to make the flashback kind of accurate. For example, the company she worked for was a real one.**

**Well, that's all for now. I'll get the next chapter up, and it'll be the actual storyline. So, don't forget to review.**


	14. You Can Do This

**A/N: I've been kind of busy with Nicole and Kathleen, but I didn't forget this! Not worry, I'll finish this. So, this is Chapter 14. Yeah, OK.**

The next morning, the threesome found themselves in a coffee shop across from Trinity Church. Riley settled down and started working with his laptop, and Abigail and Lyssie watched Ian pace back and forth across the street. Lyssie turned to Riley, making sure Abigail couldn't hear her.

"Hey."

"Yeah?" Riley took a sip of coffee, and looked at her.

"You're a really good singer, you know." Lyssie said softly. Riley's ears turned red.

"I normally don't sing in front of people." He mumbled.

"You should. You have a talent, Riley. You ought to show it off." Lyssie smiled. Riley shook his head vigorously.

"I _can't._ I just can't It…It's just too hard. It was hard enough for me last night. And you're one person." Riley pointed out.

"What are you two talking about?" Abigail asked suddenly.

"Nothing." Lyssie said. Abigail flipped open her cell phone and dialed Shaw's number. "You have your ex's number on your cell?" Lyssie asked. Abigail didn't answer.

"Can I talk to Ben please?" Abigail asked, her voice sickeningly sweet. There was a pause. "Hi sweetie. How's your day going?"

Lyssie made gagging motions, and Riley chuckled.

"Turns out helping someone escape from FBI custody is a criminal act. He's the only criminal we knew. So we called him and made a deal."

Lyssie guessed she was referring to Ian, who continued pacing, back and forth. She thought he would have paced a hole on the concrete by now.

"Yeah, we all are. Riley's over here doing something clever with a computer."

"I'm tracking him through the… Hey!" Riley stopped mid sentence as a phone was pressed to his ear. "I'm tracking you through the GPS in Shaw's phone. They take a turn anywhere we don't want, we'll know it, so…" Abigail took the phone back.

"Why does she do that?" Lyssie asked.

"I have no idea." Riley shook his head.

"Simple. Heere at the Wall. Wall Street and Broadway." Abigail paused. "Ben, there is a catch. We made Ian believe he could have the treasure. It's the only way we could get this far."

"He's here. Here we go." Riley shut his laptop. Lyssie took a deep breath.

"It's now or never." She said to herself, looking nervously at the church across the street. She stood, watching Ben and Ian talk. Ian put the Declaration and the pipe from the Charlotte on top of the car, they talked some more, and Ben took them and went in.

They left the coffee shop, and walked across the street. Lyssie hesitated. She felt Riley's hand on her shoulder.

"You OK?" He whispered.

"I'm fine." Lyssie replied quietly. She stepped into the church. The first time in 6 years. She swallowed, shook her head, and slowly walked into a pew, focusing on Ben. Riley got in next to her. She could hear Ben and Ian talking, but was too far away to hear the words. After about two minutes, they stood up and headed for the church's basement.

Lyssie felt her heart sinking, having desperately hoped that wasn't where they would go. She stood up shaking her head to herself. It couldn't be that bad, right? It was a church basement. That day was behind her now, they were here for an entirely different purpose. But it still took her a lot of persuading to get herself down the stairs.

"What are we looking for?" Lyssie asked Ben.

"Parkington Lane."

"A street?"

"I don't know." Ben shook his head, a bit confused himself.

She remembered something about a Parkington Lane, but it was rather cloudy in her mind. She walked through the basement, the pictures flying back into her mind. She just blinked them away, but before she knew it, her eyes began to mist. She looked at Riley, helplessly, trying hard to hold them back. He took her hand, carefully leading her to the stairs.

"This is a little much for, you isn't it?"

Lyssie wordlessly nodded. "I just…I'm trying not to remember. But the pictures keep coming back."

"You can do this." Riley looked her in the eye, his hand on hers.

"I don't…"

"You can do this, Lyssie. If anyone can, it's you." Riley said firmly. Lyssie brushed the tears from her eyes, and smiled. She cupped Riley's face in her hands and kissed him softly.

"This is why I love you." Lyssie whispered as she pulled away. Riley just smiled and returned the kiss. Then they heard a cry from the other room. It sounded like one of Ian's men.

"Parkington Lane! It's a person!"


	15. The Treasure Room

**a/N: Don't worry, I haven't disappeared! I'm still here!**

**Obviously, I don't own National Treasure. But it would be nice. I'd be rich, plus I'd own Riley… mischievous grin**

Riley and Lyssie ran back into the room as everyone gathered around the tomb on the wall.

"Parkington Lane." Ben read. "He was a third degree master mason of the blue light…Hey!" He jumped out of the way suddenly as one of Ian's goons began smashing poor Parkington's grave open. Almost everyone moved forward to pull him out. Suddenly bottom of the casket gave way, and a skeleton fell out. Everyone groaned.

Lyssie suddenly felt nauseous, the smell of rotting flesh making her gag.

"Careful no one steps in him." Shippen joked. They all peered into the dark tunnel.

"OK… Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?" Riley offered. Lyssie shook her head, still slightly nauseous.

"Alright, MacGregor, Victor, you stay here. And if anyone should come out without me…" Ian paused. "Well, use your imagination."

Everyone slowly filed into the tunnel. Lyssie couldn't help but smile as Ben grabbed Abigail's arm and swung her into a kiss. She heard one of Ian's henchmen mutter something to himself.

A burst of light came from a lit torch up ahead. They walked into a large underground tunnel.

"What's this?" Ian asked, indicating a large wooden object held up by ropes.

"It's a chandelier." Ben observed. "Here." He lit the chandelier and handed Riley his torch. They pulled some ropes and the chandelier moved to the center of the tunnel, revealing a deep hole full of complicated elevator systems.

"Wow." Lyssie breathed, looking around in awe.

"Look at the elevators." Ben pointed out.

"How did a bunch of guys with hand tools build all this?" Shippen asked.

"The same way they built the pyramids, and the Great Wall of China." Ben said.

"Yeah," Riley agreed. "The aliens helped them." Lyssie smacked him playfully.

"Sure they did." Lyssie rolled her eyes. Riley rubbed the spot she'd smacked and gave her a look. She shrugged.

"Alright, let's go. What are we waiting for?" Ian asked.

"I'm not going out on that thing." Mr. Gates protested. "200 years of termite damage and rot…"

"Dad, do what he says." Ben told him. Mr. Gates reluctantly began going down the steps, and everyone else followed.

"Watch your step." He told everyone as they passed. Suddenly the walls shook. Dirt rained down and everyone froze.

"Subway." Ian explained. The others nodded. Suddenly the floor fell out and Shaw fell through the boards. Lyssie let out a scream as she watched him fall into the deep hole. Suddenly, the structure began falling apart.

Riley grabbed a rope and held Lyssie against him.

"Trust me?" He asked quickly. Lyssie nodded. They swung down to another platform and let go, both of them hitting the wall. Lyssie lay still for a minute, intense pain in her leg.

"Lys? Are you OK?"

"I… don't know." Lyssie said softly. She heard more talking and screaming around her, but wasn't sure who the voices belonged to. She tried to stand up, but her legs didn't agree. Riley turned her over on her back and helped her up.

"Ow." She whimpered. "I think I did something to my leg."

"Do you need help?" Riley asked.

"No." Lyssie shook her head. She looked around and saw Ben swing over onto the platform and apologize to Abigail.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I dropped you. I had to save the Declaration." Ben said quickly.

"No, don't be. I would have done exactly the same thing to you." Abigail said.

"Really?" Ben asked.

"I would've dropped you both. Freaks." Riley called, though muttering the last part. Lyssie giggled, limping down the steps. The elevator carrying Ian, Mr. Gates and Shippen came down.

"Ian, it's not worth it." Ben looked at Lyssie, who was still limping, and at Abigail.

"Do you imagine any one of your lives is more valuable to me than Shaw's?" Ian asked. "We go on."

Ben looked to his dad for help, but his dad just looked at him. "The status quo. Keep the status quo."

Everyone piled onto the elevator and went down to a small passage way.

"This is where it all leads." Lyssie said quietly, still hopeful. They walked into the passageway into… an empty room.

"What?" Lyssie looked around.

"So, where is the treasure?" Shippen asked. Ben didn't answer.

"Well?" Ian pressed.

"This is it? We came all this way for a dead end?" Riley's voice rose slowly.

"Yes." Ben sighed in defeat.

"There has got to be something more." Riley said.

"Riley, there's nothing more." Ben told him. Riley opened his mouth to speak, but Lyssie interrupted.

"Maybe another clue, or something…"

"No, there are no more clues! That's it! It's over! End of the road! The treasure's gone, moved, taken somewhere else." Ben yelled. Lyssie shrunk back.

"You're not playing games with me Ben? You know where it is?" Ian asked.

"No." Ben replied.

"OK. Go." He and Shippen headed for the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Lyssie cried.

"Wait a minute!" Ben called. The elevator started going up.

"Wait, Ian, you can't just leave us here." Abigail protested. Ian stopped the elevator.

"Yes I can. Unless Ben tells me the next clue."

"There's not another clue." Ben said again.

"Ian, wait. Listen, why don't you come back down here and we can talk through this together." Riley suggested. Ian pulled Shippen's gun from the holster and pointed it at Riley.

"Don't speak again." Ian warned.

"Hey! Leave him alone, Ian!" Lyssie shouted. She stared at him angrily.

"Well, you're certainly outspoken, aren't you? Quite a bit of spunk. It's a shame you're being wasted on Poole." Ian smirked.

"Hey! I'd stand by him over you any day." Lyssie glared, standing beside Riley, arms crossed.

"Lys." Riley warned under his breath. Ian looked

"So, the clue?" Ian reminded Ben. "Where's the treasure? Ben?"

"The lantern." Mr. Gates said suddenly.

"Dad." Ben started.

"The status quo has changed son."

"Don't." Ben protested quietly.

"It's part of freemason teachings." Ben's father began. "In King's Solomon's temple, there was a winding staircase. It signified the journey that had to be made to find the light of truth. The lantern is the clue?"

"And what does it mean?" Ian pushed on.

"Boston." Ben said softly. "It's Boston."

"The Old North Church in Boston, where Thomas Newton hung a lantern in the steeple to signal to Paul Revere that British were coming. One if by land, tow if by sea. One lantern under the winding staircase of the steeple. That's where you have to look." Mr. Gates finished.

"Thank you." Ian went to start the elevator again.

"Don't you think we should go with you?" Lyssie asked.

"So you can escape in Boston. Besides, with all of you out of the picture, there's less baggage to carry." Ian said.

"What if we lied?" Mr. Gates asked.

"Did you?" Ian pointed the gun at Ben's father.

"What if there's another clue?" Ben asked.

"Then I know right where to find you. See you Ben." Ian started the elevator again.

"No!" Ben shouted.

"You can't trap us down here!" Lyssie could feel her eyes beginning to water.

"There's no other way out!" Riley shouted. A few more useless shouts went up. "We're all gonna die." He said sadly.

"It's going to be OK Riley." Ben told him. He turned to Lyssie. "Sorry I yelled at you." Ben and his father suddenly turned around and walked back into the empty room.

"Alright boys, what's going on? The British came by sea with two lanterns. Not one." Abigail reminded him.

"Ian needed another clue, so we gave it to him." Mr. Gates told her, looking around.

"It was a fake. It was a fake clue." Riley said with sudden realization.

"Yeah. So, now what?"

"By the time Ian figures it out, we'll still be trapped down here. And he'll… shoot us then." Riley said. "Either way, we're going to die."

"How optimistic of you Riley." Lyssie rolled her eyes.

"Nobody's going to die. There's another way out." Ben said.

"Really?" Lyssie began to feel hopeful again.

"Where?" Riley asked.

"Through the treasure room."

**A/n: It's a little short, but I'm real close to being done. Maybe 2 or 3 more chapters? And review! I love reviews! They make me happy! And they taste yummy!**


	16. Not Scared Anymore

**Disclaimer!: I don't own National Treasure. Check my profile. I'm not Jerry Bruckheimer, Jon Turtletaub, or anyone affiliated with movie at all. Nothing. So that's that.**

**Guess what? I'm planning…. A sequel! I want a vote. Who wants a sequel? If so, raise your hand in your review! If not, just say so.**

**On with the story!**

"_Nobody's going to die. There's another way out." _

"_Really?" _

"_Where?" ._

"_Through the treasure room." _

"What?" Lyssie asked, a bit confused. Ben pushed a button and a section of wall slid back. Ben handed Riley his torch, and then Ben and Patrick pushed wall open, the walked into the room and saw…nothing.

"Looks like somebody got here first." Riley remarked.

"Where did it go?" Lyssie looked at Ben, her eyes questioning. Had they really come all this way for a dead end?

"I'm sorry, Ben." Abigail said softly.

"It's gone." There was a hint of disappointment in Ben's voice. Lyssie sat down on a stone, thinking. He had said there was another way out? Where was it, then?

"Listen, Ben…" Patrick began.

"It may have even been gone before Charles Carroll told the story to Thomas Gates."

"It doesn't matter." Ben's father said. Lyssie sat, still mulling this entire thing over. She stood up, wandering through the room, looking at the designs on the wall. She could hear Ben's father talking, but she wasn't listening. There just had to be something.

"I just really thought I was going to find to the treasure." Ben sounded a little sad, and Lyssie couldn't really blame him. After all he'd done….

"Then we just keep looking for it." Patrick said.

"I'm in." Abigail said, smiling at Ben. Suddenly, something familiar caught Lyssie's eye. A metal circle. That shape, Could it be….

"Ben!" Lyssie shrieked. "Look at this! The pipe!"

Ben walked over, his eyes fixed on the shape. Everybody gathered around, intrigued. Ben pulled the pipe from his jacket, then back up at the shape.

"Could it really be that simple?" Ben asked. He took the base of the pipe and slid it in. A perfect fit. Then he took the base of the pipe and slid it in, turning the circle around. He pressed it in. A section of one of the walls fell in. Ben grinned at Lyssie, who grinned back. She smiled at riley and ran in. As everyone filed in, they were awestruck. It was the treasure!

Everyone spread out. Lyssie stood in front of a statue, looking at it closely. Riley stood beside her.

"It's a big, blueish-green man…" Riley said quietly

"With a goatee." Lyssie added.

"I'm guessing that's significant." Riley hugged the statue.

"Group hug!" Lyssie squealed. She put her arms around Riley and the statue. He laughed. As they let go, blue eyes linked with hazel, like the night in the van. Suddenly Riley pulled Lyssie into a warm, passionate kiss. When they pulled away, Lyssie blushed.

"This has probably been one of the best things that's ever happened to me." Riley whispered. Lyssie could feel his warm breath on her face. Suddenly there was a strange bursting noise from the other side of the room. They rushed over to see flames pouring down in straight lines down stairs, all the way to the end of a very long room.

Lyssie's eyes grew wide. Everyone became excited. She looked at Riley. His eyes were glistening.

"What's the matter?" Lyssie asked.

"Look…stairs."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

A few hours later, they sat back up in the church. Sadusky walked in. He and Ben began discussing some things Lyssie couldn't hear. There was something she wanted to do. She grew antsy. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer. She ran out the door, a specific destination in mind. Patrick looked ready to get up, but Riley hopped up.

"If I know her, I know where she's going."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

He found her exactly where he'd thought she would be. Ground Zero.

"Lyssie, why are you doing this to yourself?" Riley asked loudly. Lyssie jumped. Riley was surprised. She wasn't crying.

"What do you mean?" Lyssie paused. "I've been scared to face all this. I wasn't sure what would happen if I came back. I thought it would come back. But…nothing. I can do this. Because of you."

"What do you mean?"

"Yesterday, you really helped. You made me realize that I have someone to fall back on. And I'm not scared anymore, because of that." Then Lyssie looked up shyly. "I love you."

Riley stood where he was, not sure how to react.

"You OK?" Lyssie asked. Riley suddenly pulled her into another kiss.

"Right back at you." Riley smiled.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

**A/N: What do you think is going to happen? Read and find out. The next chap shall be the last.**

**OK, now you can go! Thanks for reading! **


	17. AN: HELP!

**Truth be told, this isn't actually a chapter. It's more like an author's note.**

**First, I want to thank everyone for reviewing. The reviews have definitely kept me writing!**

**Rocki**

**Nelle07**

**shariena**

**Songorita**

**daisyduke80**

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**urbanfan4ever**

**MyRabbitMilkshake**

**TurkReno-Is-A-HAWTAY**

**Something Not So Normal**

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**What a list! Thank you all. You all get a cookie!**

**Well, anyways, I need help! I seem to be having a small case of writer's block. I had an ending, but as I wrote it, it didn't fit. **

**So… How do you want this to end? Can anyone come up with an ending? Not the whole thing, just a way to start off the last chapter. Because I was originally going to have something like a karaoke contest, but I don't really like the idea anymore. **

**I'll give you credit, of course. I just need that spark to start it off. **

**Anyway, sorry if this is taking up your time. **

**Thank you all!**

**-PropheticIllusion**


	18. The Final Chapter: 3 Months Later

**So….This is –sniffle- the last chapter. Thank you guys so much for everything. Reviewing, reading, giving me help when I needed it. You guys are the best. I never could've gotten this far. Thank you all for making this such a success! This is a real hard story to let go of. But if I must...**

**And now, without further ado, I present to you the 17****th**** and final chapter of **_**Stuck!**_** Enjoy, and thanks a bunch for reading.**

**All my blessings!**

**-PropheticIllusion**

**TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT**

**.3 Months Later.**

Lyssie sat in Ben and Abigail's living room, holding a book in one hand and an apple in the other. Her long black hair was pulled back into a messy bun, and her hazel eyes were firmly concentrating on the book. She wandered around the room while she read, pausing to take a bite from the apple. Just then she felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her waist. She pretended not to notice.

"Hi." She could feel Riley's warm breath on her ear. She put down the book and turned her head.

"Hi." She smiled.

"Want to come outside? Ben and Abi are wandering around the garden somewhere. We should probably find them."

Lyssie sighed. "But I was almost done!"

Riley rolled his eyes. "Come on."

"Fine." Lyssie sighed, setting the book on the coffee table. She suddenly bolted for the door.

"Catch me if you can!" She called. Riley ran after her. She ran barefoot into the grass, laughing. He caught her by the arm, pulling her into a kiss. When she pulled away, she smiled up at him, and took his hand in hers.

"Now, let's see if we can find them." Lyssie smiled.

After walking around, they finally spotted them.

"What have you two been up to?" Lyssie asked, walking towards them.

"Just planning a few things to do with the garden." Abigail smiled. "What about you?"

"Nothing." Lyssie smiled. Riley kissed her again, and she laughed. But they didn't pull away. They knew how much it bothered Ben and Abigail when they did this. Finally, after a few minutes, Ben cleared his throat.

"Guys? You want to get a room?"

Lyssie pulled away laughing. Suddenly Riley's phone rang.

"Hello? Mhm. OK, alright. That sounds fine. Yeah, you got it chief. Thank you. Bye." He hung up the phone. "They want us in Cairo next week for the opening of the exhibit. They're sending a private jet."

"Sounds fun." Abigail commented.

"I heard Cairo's really romantic." Lyssie grinned. "And wow. A private jet. It sounds cool."

"Yeah, big whoop. Could've had a whole fleet of private jets. Ten percent, Ben. They offered you ten percent and you turned them done." Riley shook his head.

"Riley, we've been over this. It was too much, I couldn't except it." Ben said for what seemed to the hundredth time. Riley never got tired of bugging Ben about the money.

"I actually have this splinter that's been festering for 3 months from an old piece of wood." Riley held out his finger. Lyssie wrinkled her nose.

"A splinter which I told you to get removed."

"I'll tell you what. The next time we find a treasure that redefines history for all mankind, you make the call on finder's fee." Ben said.

"That's funny. What do you care? You got Abi. And me? I got this little gal right here." Riley put his arm around Lyssie's waist, pulling her close.

"Yep." Lyssie grinned.

"Enjoy your spoils." Riley paused, jumping over the seat into the driver's side of his new Ferrari. Lyssie did the same. "While we sit on one percent. One stinking percent. Half of one percent, actually. One percent. Unbelievable." Riley muttered to himself.

"I'm sorry for your suffering, guys." Ben smiled. Lyssie pulled out her bun, letting her long dark hair hang down. She pulled on a pair of sunglasses.

"For the record, Ben, I like the house." Riley commented.

"Yeah, it's nice." Lyssie flashed a grin.

"You know, I chose this estate because in 1812, Charles Carroll met…" Ben began.

"Yeah, someone who did something in history and had fun. Great, wonderful." Riley also put on some sunglasses. "Could've had a bigger house." Riley put the car in drive, going down the long driveway.

"So now what?" Lyssie asked.

"We could go to my place." Riley suggested. "I could make you breakfast, lunch, dinner…Breakfast again."

Lyssie raised her glasses to look at him. "Are you implying something, Mr. Poole?"

"No, of course not." Riley kissed her.

"Whatever you say."

But suddenly, as soon as the words had left her mouth, everything suddenly went dark around Lyssie. She was no longer in a car, but she was standing in complete darkness. She looked around, confused.

"Where….Where am I?"

"You're on the line between fiction and reality." A male voice said. Lyssie jumped. Suddenly an old man, wearing all white, appeared before her.

"And you are?"

"I'm the Guardian of the Line, dear. And it seems you crossed it." The man looked at her seriously.

"How?" Lyssie stared at him in disbelief.

"I believe you rented a DVD, correct?"

"Yes. But what…"

"I think there was a glitch in the system." The Guardian interrupted. "You ended up here. And now, you get a choice. You can go back to your own reality and get back your old life, or you can stay in the other reality, have your old life completely erased, and assume the identity of someone from that reality."

Lyssie thought for a moment. "Well…I would like if I could stay in the 2nd one. Is it possible?"

"It is very possible."

"Then I'll stay." Lyssie nodded firmly.

"As you wish." The man snapped his fingers, and suddenly Lyssie was back where she had been, like nothing had ever happened. She decided to set aside her confusion and enjoy her life here. After all, she was in a place where she could live happily ever after. Or so she thought….

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

**Yeah, it's a cliffhanger. And an extremely confusing ending. ****But it's a tie in to the sequel. So… keep your eyes open for the sequel, and I hope you enjoyed reading Stuck! It's been a pleasure! You know the drill!**

**-PropheticIllusion**


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